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Career Insights in the Big Cities

When you first graduated you have big dreams, enormous ambitions
and perhaps you think you can conquer the world one day. Majority of the fresh
graduates will want to work in the big cities, big corporate, big title, dressed
smartly and feel glamour about their job. I admire your determination but when you
started to step into the corporate world in the big cities, the reality of life
hits you. It’s the survival of the fittest. Do you want to be part of it?

Career Insights in the Big Cities

As mentioned earlier, most graduates would like to work in the top
five or top ten corporations in country and most of them are actually located
in Klang Valley. Although there are more glamour jobs opportunities in the big
cities but there are also more people competing for the same jobs. Sometimes
this can make your job search frustrating.

Have you ever consider to move to second tier cities or go back to
your hometown to work? Where life is not so stressful and you can have a better
work life balance. For example, Melaka is a great town to work and raise a
family. Nice environment, friendly people, good food and just about 2 hours
drive to Klang Valley. Plus find jobs in Melaka are easier because there are more developments coming up. Here are
the cons of working in the big cities:

1. Survival of the Fittest

There are more people in the big cities and it’s a competitive
world. You have to fight for what you want and be persevered to go through all
challenges. For example, you might be qualified for a job but 10 other people
who are applying for the same position are slightly more qualified. Maybe they
have more job experience or a master's degree and you just have a bachelor's.

Or perhaps you might think you are great at your job but every day there are
hundreds or thousands of employees eyeing at your position. These people can be
younger, smarter, willing to work harder and put in extra hours. Therefore you have
to fight constantly and might burn out if you can’t cope with the pressure.

2. Cost of Living

The cost of living in the big cities is definitely higher.
Especially with the inflation and rising cost of living in the cities most of
the fresh graduates or urban dwellers can barely survived.

At the end of the
month what we earned is just enough to cover our basic expenses there we might not be any saving or worst w. The rental or
property prices are rocket high so most have to be contented with a small
apartment or rent a small room in the cities. However, the cost of living in
the smaller town is still bearable and at the end of the month perhaps you.

3. Traffic Jam

In the big cities traffic can be a nightmare and stressful. We
wasted lots of time in the traffic jam for no reason. Travelling back and forth
to work may take at least an hour or more. Sometimes traffic can get so bad
that it can turn you in to a monster. If you hate driving in traffic, than the
big city life is not for you.

4. No Work Life Balance

It’s a demanding lifestyle in the big cities even to get there
requires perseverance and persistence. With demands come risks and fatigue. The
bonus of a casual life is that the differentiation with un-likeminded people
can fuel you as much as your idols.

If you work in the big cities, for some working late till 9pm or
more is a norm. The moment you reach home you feel so tired and then dozed off.
The next day, you woke up early and continue the same routine again and again. Some
have work during the weekends also.

5. Pollution & Free Radicals

We can’t avoid pollution and free radicals in big city life. It’s a sad reality that makes us feel and look older than our actual age.
Unfortunately, pollution may always be a problem in the big city despite the
efforts made to reduce pollution.

6. High Crime Rate

There is always more crime in a big city, causing you second case
your decision for living in a big city. You are much more likely to be a victim
of a crime living in a big city than in a smaller town. So you have to
constantly be very careful and alert of what’s going on your surroundings.

These are some of my thoughts of Career Insights in The Big Cities, if you have different perspectives about this subject kindly leave a comment below. Anyway in this digital era, you can work anywhere and anytime as you like. However life in the big cities are fast, fun and exciting. There are job opportunities and activities to occupy your time. You need to analyze the pros and cons of working in the big cities, how it effect you and prioritize your goals.

Very insightful observations, Kelly. We face some similar issues in Singapore as well, such as traffic jams and high cost of living. I do agree with Shet Ling that the best option is working from home and I would love to do that too, but practically, not all jobscopes allow for that.

it's true. but somehow i find there are more job opportunities in the city, they are often more exciting as well. I think the question has to go back to personal choice, evaluate whatever is suitable for you, make your choice and be happy with it.

In the Philippines, I think the big reason why people prefer working in Manila (the capital) is because the wage rate is really much higher compared to those in the provinces. So even if there's traffic jam and the competitive is tight, graduates and professionals like it here.

There are indeed pros and cons of working in the big city. It is a matter of priorities and preference. I trained in New York but decided to raise my family in the Midwest because of the high cost of living, traffic, and lower income for my type of work (versus the Midwest). I enjoyed staying in New York while I was there and it's a great place to visit for entertainment but it just wasn't my cup of tea for raising my young ones.

Survival of the fittest indeed. Almost everybody wants to be seen high, working in the big cities and live an expectional life. Nothing else has a benefit without its the other side but in as much as the benefits outweight the disadvantages then it is good to live such a life.

I worked in a daily 9 t0 5 job earlier and it made me always tired actually.So I think it's always to run a business and be your own boss,that's what am doing now and very happy actually.Your life would be much balance if after your education you go for doing business instead of searching jobs and so on.

There will also be cons even working in the smaller towns. In every place there will be pros and cons. It's just whether that person can handle those stress and know how to work around the cons and look at the positive side.

I live outside of a bigger city and I can see a lot of the cons you listed above. While driving from my town to the big city near me, the traffic starts to pile up on the freeways and there is road-rage. The city also had higher home costs with smaller square footage. I didn't like this. For now, I'm glad to live in a smaller town right outside of the big city.

Really, in real life, surviving in the city looks hard and gloomy when you cannot accept thye challenges. More and more people are disappointed because of whar you point out on this article. Survival to the fittest....

That's unfortunately the mindset most graduates have. It's important to start small and work your way up instead of aiming for the big corporations in big cities. I think it's much more convenient to choose a city where you don't have to mind the traffic or the cost of living!

I've lived in Manila, our capital, for two decades and you have listed above what I just had back then. But as I age, my priorities change and now I am more at ease here in the province. I don't earn as much as I used to but I also don't spend a lot and don't stress myself too much.

That's all why I have moved from Singapore to a small town in Sweden now. It's very slow paced, family friendly and much less stressful here. I am able to take care of my son full time which I wouldn't be able to do back in Singapore if we want our own place...